Facebook Buys Digital Book Publisher Push Pop Press

Push Pop Press, the company that published Al Gore’s interactive app “Our Choice” earlier this year, now has a bigger claim to fame: It is Facebook’s newest acquisition. But, both companies caution, don’t take this as a sign that Facebook is moving into digital publishing. This is a talent grab.

In a statement on the company’s website, Push Pop cofounders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris write:

Now we’re taking our publishing technology and everything we’ve learned and are setting off to help design the world’s largest book, Facebook.

Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories. With millions of people publishing to Facebook each day, we think it’s going to be a great home for Push Pop Press.

Al Gore’s Our Choice will remain available for purchase, and we’ve decided that our future profits from the book will be donated to The Climate Reality Project. There are no plans to continue publishing new titles or building out our publishing platform that was in private beta. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported and expressed interest in Push Pop Press.

A Facebook spokesperson said the company “can confirm Facebook is not going into digital publishing,” and provided the following statement:

“We’re thrilled to confirm that we’ve acquired Push Pop Press, a startup whose groundbreaking software changes the way people publish and consume digital content. We can’t wait for co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to get started, and for some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook.”